That’s the question I got from my editor (though not exactly stated in that fashion) about a couple of items related to schooling that appear in Don’t Tell My Best Friend I Love Her. So, today, I’m going to clarify those things and add one more of my own.
But just before I get to that, I want to let you know that I got the final manuscript uploaded to all my retailers, so the eBook is available to pre-order everywhere. It will be in Kobo Plus and on Everand on release day (December 29).
And from now until the end of the month, a download of book is available to all current and new paid Patreon members. (Find me on Patreon by clicking here)
There are also a limited number of review copies available on Booksprout at this link: https://bit.ly/ReviewCopiesDTBF
Okay, now back to what I wanted to clarify. 🙂
The first two things have to do with what we call various grades here in Nova Scotia.
Half an hour later, and with a little less stress than normal because Fred was the Pied Piper of Primary kids, all of Esther’s students had been delivered to their parents or the afterschool program, and Fred sat in one of the chairs next to the least glittered art table.
See that word there in bold? To some, that may just mean early elementary school kids – maybe grades 1-3 or some designation like that. That’s not what it means here. Here in Nova Scotia, when we talk about primary students, we mean the kids that are about five years old and just officially starting school. If you’re not from Nova Scotia, you’ll most likely call them kindergarteners. Primary, meaning kindergarteners, is a uniquely Nova Scotia thing. This is the age that Esther teaches in our story.
Of course, Sean wouldn’t leave it at a simple answer. Fred blew out a breath. “You can’t tell anyone this, okay?”
“Okaaaaayyy?” Sean agreed cautiously.
Fred leveled an I’m-deadly-serious-about-this look at Sean. “This puts you at the top of the red seal certification for friends.” Red seal friends were a step above just regular friends but not quite on the same level of his twin Eddie or his true best friend, Esther. But almost.
“I see.” Sean stood with his arms crossed, waiting.
“I tried that and got shot down.” There. Someone besides Eddie and Esther knew about him asking her to the Halloween hayride when they were in grade eleven.
This section of the story contains the other terms I wanted to clarify.
We’ll start with the last bold words there: grade eleven.
No, that’s not a typo. No, it shouldn’t be eleventh grade. No, it shouldn’t be junior year. We don’t use terms like freshman, sophomore, junior and senior very often here in Nova Scotia. They just aren’t commonly used. And we don’t say eleventh grade. We say grade eleven. It’s just part of our culture here, so I wanted to keep that authentic in my story. Fred wouldn’t think “eleventh grade” or “junior year.” He’d think and say grade eleven.
Now, let’s tackle that first bold term: red seal certification. It comes up once later in the story as well when someone talks about a mechanic getting her red seal certification. So what is it?
<< This isn’t the official seal. It’s just a picture for interest sake.
I learned about this term back when I was teaching grade nine and a group promoting the trades would come do a presentation for my class. Red seal is THE certification you want to get if you want to be able to work in your trade field anywhere in Canada without having to take any additional training or exams. It signifies that a trades person meets national standards and is recognized as a mark of high skill level. It’s special and takes some work to get. That’s why Fred labels his good friends as Red Seal friends.
I hope that these little notes on terms that are part of Nova Scotia culture help you enjoy (and understand) the story better when you finally get to read it.
Have a great weekend! Hopefully, it’s not too hectic, and all the last minute holiday things are falling into place neatly for you. Personally, I still have several things to cross off that Christmas to-do list.
<3 Annilee
